Lawsuits & Litigation

Wireless and Cellular Lawsuits Franchise Information Related Links

POL

Lawsuits & Litigation

Qwest vs Portland litigation on franchise fees (2001 - present)

Qwest sued the City in federal court claiming franchises and franchise fees were illegal. Qwest lost on the fee issue. Ruling on franchises is pending.

Time Warner Telecom and Qwest vs Portland litigation (2004 - present; consolidated cases)

TWT and Qwest sued the City in federal court, claiming franchise fees and IRNE (the City's telecom system) were illegal. TWT and Qwest lost. The case is on appeal.

Portland vs Electric Lightwave, Inc litigation (2003 - 2005)

Portland sued ELI in federal court for failure to pay franchise fees and won.

AT&T, Sprint Wireless, Comcast/TCI and Qwest/US West vs Eugene (1998 - 2003)

The Oregon Supreme Court ruled that Eugene's telecommunications ordinance and 2% telecom tax were legal.

Sprint Wireless vs San Diego (2008)

Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals (en banc) held that telecom companies can only sue cities & counties for actual or effective prohibitions of service, not speculative or theoretical ones. This overturns the 9th Circuit's prior decision in Qwest vs Auburn.

Sprint v San Diego - Portland's Amicus Brief

Here is the City's argument for overturning the 9th Circuit's decision in Qwest vs. Auburn